this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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[–] finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 163 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (7 children)

Ah yes, Cortana and Copilot both suck, but surely third time's the charm. And when Scout is, inevitably, unpopular as well? We'll see what they call number four.

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 66 points 2 months ago (3 children)

You forgot clippy, but everyone forgets about clippy unless it's in this exact context. Or it's Norfolk wizard game.

[–] finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 2 months ago

I can't believe I forgot Clippy...

[–] harmbugler@piefed.social 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)
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[–] cybervegan@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (3 children)

What about Microsoft Bob? Doesn't that count as their first attempt?

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[–] Earthman_Jim@lemmy.zip 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Is there any fundamental difference between Copilot and Scout, or is it just a straight up rebranding?

[–] finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 months ago

My impression is that scout is specifically going to be an agentic ai. Agentic ai platforms are supposedly a little more competent than chatbots, but still subject to the same llm chicanery and enormous energy usage.

It's hard to compare against copilot because MS has called a ton of distinct things copilot (see the diagram below).

diagram of different MS products called copilot

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

You forgot they called it Bing in the middle too

[–] pycorax@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Cortana was actually really good on Windows Phone but they dumbed it down and added all sort of crap to it by the time it was integrated onto the desktop. They could've doubled down on whatads it good but nope.

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[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 58 points 2 months ago (1 children)

do you really wanna be admitting that addiction is your goal?

A $6 Million Jury Verdict Ruled Social Media Is Addictive.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/anishasircar/2026/03/30/a-6-million-jury-verdict-ruled-social-media-is-addictive-now-what/

[–] uninvitedguest@piefed.ca 63 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That kind of fine is a pittance.

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 15 points 2 months ago

true. but this one wasn't a class action, either.. just one plaintiff.

[–] kablez@lemmy.world 54 points 2 months ago (1 children)

My non Linux savvy spouse is currently dual booting Linux Mint because Windows has become so frustrating to use.

Mint isn't perfect. We've run into a few bugs and shortcomings. But there's a big difference between dealing with genuine issues in an OS and using one that feels actively hostile and designed to exploit the user.

If both experiences can be frustrating, why choose the one that's frustrating by design (unless you absolutely have to) ?

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 15 points 2 months ago (12 children)

I've used Linux for a decade now and windows is so much more buggy and shortcoming. Including new bugs.

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[–] stretch2m@infosec.pub 48 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I will never EVER give an AI agency over any of my personal accounts.

[–] KillerWhale@orcas.enjoying.yachts 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You are not the target audience.

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 39 points 2 months ago

Oh we're the target, just not the customer.

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[–] magnue@lemmy.world 45 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Instead they made me addicted to Linux.

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Yeah every time I get on my laptop it's a little more unrecognisable and unusable to me. Will be getting in Linux as soon as I get a chance.

[–] moobythegoldensock@infosec.pub 9 points 2 months ago (7 children)

What’s stopping you so far?

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Time more than anything, im only on it about 2 hours once a month

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[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 28 points 2 months ago (1 children)

adding new "features"

look inside

enshittification

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[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 27 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Gotta produce dopamine for that to happen. Not cortisol.

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[–] BigMacHole@thelemmy.club 22 points 2 months ago

We're going to MAKE people ADDICTED by ~~making a REALLY Good Product!~~ ~~SOLVING annoying Problems!~~ ~~TREATING Customers respectfully!~~ FORCING ourselves Onto people like Donald Trump on Little Girls!

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 21 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If they want people addicted to an AI, it's going to have to be a lot better than fucking Copilot.

As slop generators go, it's about the sloppiest.

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[–] flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Did they try making it good?

[–] Rothe@piefed.social 13 points 2 months ago

That's the beauty of it (from their viewpoint), they don't have to make it good, just unavoidable.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 2 months ago

yes, good at self-destructing.

[–] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 18 points 2 months ago

Yeah, we know

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 17 points 2 months ago

Have they tried making it better, I feel like I'm more likely to become addicted to it if it was good.

[–] it_depends_man@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago

Duh. I wouldn't have called it "addiction", but dependency was clearly the goal, otherwise they wouldn't take away classical search.

I thought that was obvious from the start.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 15 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This strategy worked so well for Bing

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Hahahaha suck it, Microslop. I look forward to your Chapter 11 filing.

[–] Kaligalis@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

No shit, Sherlock.
And people would actually happily get addicted to an AI assistant which is reliable, safe, capable, kind, and fast.
They really should try making a great product. Then they don't need any tricks. People love great products.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

BREAKING - Companies want customers to get addicted to their products!!!1

[–] truthfultemporarily@feddit.org 10 points 2 months ago

Legitimately most modern games or all of social media.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 months ago

I can't fault them for this business plan. It has worked for the opioid business professionals time and time again, for centuries!

[–] innermachine@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

Hold on let me put on my surprised look

[–] Qzr@programming.dev 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

At least they're honest (internally) about their intentions. Obviously this is also the goal of the other big AI foundries; it either already is or it will be in the future.

Luckily Microsoft is famously bad at this, but Google and perhaps OpenAI will be more successful. We're still in the subsidized honeymoon phase, but this window is closing with the increasing pressure to return profit.

As a skeptic, I'm not worried about myself, but I'm scared for the people who will get addicted and then ruined by full prices or devastated when their mind drug is taken away again.

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[–] nectar45@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 months ago

At this rate I will have to do like Terry Davis and make my OWN minimalistic OS to escape this AI plague.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

Explains why they want you to think it's also a person.

[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

That shit should set off alarm bells of all regulators… but we elect people who don’t give a fuck so…

[–] Solrac@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

Oh they're making me addicted alright. I can't stop installing Linux on things. Its like a new vice for my devices

[–] dracs@programming.dev 8 points 2 months ago
[–] FE80@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago
[–] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Only Scout believed in himself.

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[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Knowing Microslop, I'm not too worried. They'll either scrap the idea before implementing it or make it so shitty people won't use it. Let them try for the shits n giggles.

Uhh yeah thats the long term profit concept of LLMs, force them onto people for free until they cant live without them, then jack up the price. Its been pretty obvious...

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